July 8 (Bloomberg) -- China ordered a nationwide halt to
usage of a model of escalator produced by United Technologies
Co.’s Otis unit after a deadly accident on one of the machines
in Beijing this week.

Otis had “unavoidable responsibility for the accident,”
Zhang Juming, a deputy head of the Beijing Bureau of Quality and
Technical Supervision, said at a briefing yesterday, according
to a transcript posted to the website of the city government.
The 513MPE escalator involved in the accident that killed one in
Beijing had “defects in design, manufacturing and
maintenance,” Zhang said.

The city of Beijing has already suspended purchases of Otis
escalators and halted operation of 257 of the machines in its
subway system after an upward-bound escalator at the Beijing Zoo
station changed direction without notice on July 5, causing
about 30 people to fall and killing one. China’s General
Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine
is investigating further, according to the statement.

Li Mingjie, a Beijing-based spokeswoman for Otis, said by
telephone today that the company had no comment because the
investigation was still ongoing.

Zhao Borui, chief engineer at Beijing’s special equipment
inspection center, said an Otis 513MPE escalator was also
involved in an accident in Shenzhen in December, according to
the transcript of the briefing. That accident injured 25 people,
the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Canny Elevator Co., China’s largest publicly listed maker
of escalators and elevators, rose the most in two weeks in
Shenzhen trading today.